


Things We Said Between Here and There

by c00kie



Series: Between Here and There [10]
Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Porn with Feelings, Road Trip, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-18 23:10:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3587547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c00kie/pseuds/c00kie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Leslie's older brother Andy finds out about her relationship with his best friend and college roommate, Ben, it sends Leslie and Ben spiraling and on the road. Part of the Older! Ben universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things We Said Between Here and There

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Ashisfriendly for her betaing and friendship. And thank you to all of you, for reading, kudos-ing and commenting.

**_things_ _you said at 1 AM_ **

"Wake up, baby doll." Leslie hears Ben whisper into her ear, kissing the shell as he runs his fingers down her arms. She opens her eyes slowly, growls and buries her face in the pillow. She doesn't know what time it is, but it feels early, even for her. Ben slides in behind her, his hands restless on her and sneaking underneath her clothes. The more he touches her, the more she wakes.

"Come on," he says, "you can sleep in the car."

She yawns and turns over, burrowing herself into his chest. "Did you say the car?"

"Yeah, we need to go." Ben sits up and Leslie follows, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. She looks over at her reflection in the dresser mirror and sees her hair is a mess, her skin red and blotchy. She makes a face, wishing Ben wasn't seeing her like this, but then her eyes flicker to Ben's, meeting them through the reflection. Then she sees it, the split in his cheek.

She whirls around, the gash even more ghastly up close. "Oh my god, Ben-"

"I told him."

She lets out a breath, but it's too late, her heart's racing, panic rising in her stomach, making her want to throw up. "Oh God."

They were going to tell everyone together. They had a plan.

"What happened?" she asks, looking him over for any other injuries. No black eyes, no missing teeth. Just the gash underneath his cheekbone.

"Well, first he punched me, and then he hugged me, and then he put me in a choke hold and told me that you were too young and also he's happy for us but you're his sister, to tell you the truth I'm not sure how he feels about us." He makes a bewildered face and shakes his head.

She stands up, ready to start pacing her room. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected. But you should have waited for us to do it together!"

"I didn't have a choice. He saw the pictures of you on my phone."

Knees feeling weak, Leslie falls back onto her bed. "Oh no." She doesn't even want to know which ones.

"Yeah, so, we need to go." He jumps off the bed, every word and movement punctuated by his anxiety.

She looks up from the spot on her floor. "Where?"

"Somewhere," Ben says, "anywhere. I don't know. He was passed out when I left but I know he's going to come to kill me."

She barely resists the urge to roll her eyes. Andy loves Ben, he wouldn't be that upset they were dating. "I don't think Andy's going to kill-"

"He saw the picture of you wearing the black thing."

The "Oh," comes out as a squeak.

He stares back at her. "Yes. So pack your stuff."

Leslie takes a step forward and rests her hand on his face, careful not to touch his wound. "Oh, Ben Wyatt. I love you so much."

"I love you," he says, and their lips brush. He pulls her closer, the kiss becoming more solid until she pushes him away.

"But I don't think you kidnapping me is the answer."

"I know. I just..." He runs his fingers through his hair, letting out a frustrated breath.

Leslie is not spontaneous. She plans. She makes pro and con lists. But then she notes the discouraged look in his eyes and knows what she has to do. "Can we be back by Monday?"

He smiles, relieved. "Yes, baby," he says, cupping her face and kissing her hard and it's worth not making a pro and con list just for that alone.

She cleans his wound before taking her shower. "I gotta say, you look pretty sexy. Like a prizefighter."

"You really wouldn't think that if you were there," he says, making a face at her.

An hour and a half later,she's curled up in the front seat of Ben's car, her overnight bag next to his in the back seat, one of Ben's U2 CDs playing as they drive out of Pawnee. He drives with one hand, his other clasped with hers, thumb stroking her wrist. She watches out the window as the buildings become fields of corn and wheat and people become cows.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure," Ben answers, turning the volume down. "East or west?"

She looks at ahead at the highway exit sign coming up. "West," she says, surprising herself. She doesn't know what's west, but Ben doesn't question it. He just switches lanes, singing along with Bono.

The sun comes up just as they leave Indiana.

_**things you said over the phone** _

"No, Mom, I promise I'm here of my own free will. I left a note!"

"I saw the note," Marlene says, "but that doesn't mean I'm not going to worry about you. You promise you're okay?"

"I'm great. I just ate my weight in tacos."

"You're in Kansas City and you're eating tacos?"

"They sounded good," Leslie says, just as Ben comes outside from the gas station. She smiles and waves, and he grins back, but then he nods at the phone, silently questioning. "How's Andy?"

"He's not here yet."

"Oh. Well when he gets there-"

"This is between you and your brother," Marlene says, making it clear she's including Ben in that statement. "Just be careful. And don't get a tattoo."

"Okay, mom. I love you."

"Love you too, honey," Marlene hangs up and Leslie follows suit, falling into Ben's open arms.

_**things you said while we were driving** _

Somewhere in the middle of Kansas Ben reaches over and unzips her jeans. "Um, Ben?"

"What?" He asks like he isn't doing something that's probably extremely illegal. She looks around, there's no one around, and he's obeying the speed limit and driving straight, but that doesn't mean they should do this.

"What? What do you mean what? What are you doing?"

"You're tense," he says, slipping his hand further down into her curls, fingers brushing against her clit, making Leslie forget why they can't do this. She closes her eyes, pleasure blossoming from her core up through her belly.

_**things you said with too many miles between us** _

"It's weird he hasn't called by now. One time he ordered a pizza and called every ten minutes to check on it."

Ben sighs and pulls his phone out of his pocket. "Check it."

Leslie grabs it out of his hand. The screen is cracked, but otherwise the phone works and sure enough, there are twenty unanswered calls from Andy. "Ben!"

"I'm sorry," he says, louder than necessary. "But I don't know what to say to him yet."

Leslie sighs, because she feels the same way. "Can I at least listen to the messages?"

"Yeah. the password is one four six zero."

"What's that for?" Leslie asks, punching the number in.

"It's Michael Stipe's birthday."

"You're a weird person," Leslie says just as Andy's voice comes through.

"Dude, bring my sister back."

Next new message:

"I'm serious, Benjamin Wyatt, bring Leslie back or you will feel the wrath of Johnny Karate."

Next new message:

"Okay, sorry, Johnny Karate wouldn't kick your ass. But you know who will? Bert Macklin."

"Has he threatened Macklin on me yet?" Ben asks.

"Shh, I'm listening!" Leslie slaps his shoulder. "And yes."

Next new message:

"How would you like it if I started screwing your sister behind your back, dude?"

Next new message:

"I don't know who you are, I don't know what you want. If you're looking for ransom-"

"He's doing the monologue from Taken now," Leslie tells Ben.

"Great. You should probably skip the next few, once he gets started with movie quotes he won't stop."

"This is stupid," Leslie announces, pressing end and throwing the phone into Ben's lap. "You should just call him."

"You call him."

"I don't want to," Leslie says under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said I don't want to."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Leslie closes her eyes. "What I don't understand is why he hasn't tried to call me."

"Because he's not mad at you."

Not knowing what to say, Leslie just stares out the window. But as time passes, the guilt becomes too much. She doesn't want to be the reason Andy and Ben stop being friends. They've been friends for as long as Leslie can remember. Growing up she would follow them around, trying to join in on their adventures, much to their annoyance.

"You're being too quiet."

"I'm thinking," Leslie replies, turning to look at him, taking in the shadows on his face. "The right thing to do would be to tell you things are over so you'll take me home and fix things with Andy."

"I'm really hoping there's a but in there."

"I don't want to."

He reaches over and grips her hand, squeezing it almost too tight but she doesn't care. She squeezes it back just as tight. "Why don't you text him? Tell him you're okay."

Leslie turns her screen on. "Good idea."

He lets go of her hand and she starts typing, unsure of where to even begin.

_**things you said when you were scared** _

The sun's beginning to set when they stop for gas in Colorado, turning the sky a bright orange. Leslie goes inside and buys them candy bars and cokes while Ben gets the gas. A man smiles at her, sending chills down her spine. She hurries out of the store, eager to get away.

"Let's not stay here," she says to Ben when she gets to the car. "Let's drive far, far away."

"Agreed but I gotta go inside and pay for this."

Leslie looks past him at the door to the store, trying to see if the creep is still inside. "Ugh. Fine. But hurry back."

"You got it," Ben says, giving her a quick kiss.

Leslie locks herself in the car and every moment he's gone is agony. The man comes out and for a second it looks like he's walking to her, but he gets into a beat up pick up and drives off.

The knock on the window makes her jump. Her heart is still pounding when she figures out it's Ben. She unlocks the door, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?"

"This place gives me the heebies."

"It is kind of creepy," Ben says, starting the engine. "I think we're only a couple hours from Denver if you want to wait to eat."

"Yes please."

_**things you said with no space between us** _

It's nine by the time they get to Denver. Most places are closed but they find a 24 hour greasy spoon that serves waffles and biscuits and gravy. It's not JJ's but it's good, so Leslie's pleased. They don't talk about Pawnee or what's going to happen when they go back, nor do they talk about where they're going.

They don't talk about those things because Leslie's too busy trying to not laugh at Ben's increasingly distressed face whenever their waitress finds an excuse to come over and shove her breasts in his face, which seems to be often.

"Great," he says, looking at the receipt. "She gave me her number."

"You're adorable and wounded," Leslie says as Ben throws down a tip. "I wonder if she saw your butt when we came in. She probably did. I don't blame her."

Ben shakes his head and she follows him to the cashier.

He throws the receipt in the trash. Leslie grabs him, and kisses him hard.

"We're getting a room," he says the moment the kiss ends.

The room they get is cheap and small, with floors that feel wet and a bathroom door that won't close, but none of those things matter. What matters is the way he holds her down as he explores her asshole with his tongue and uses his fingers in her cunt to make her scream into a pillow and the burn she feels in the back of her spine when she sinks onto him, and the groan he makes when she digs his nails into his shoulders, and the way he looks into her eyes, and his hands on her hips, his own fingers pressing into her skin as they find release together.

In the morning, the sun is rising above the mountains as they eat breakfast at the same diner. "I need to take care of you again," she says, opening the back door of the car to get a bottle of water and clean cloth.

"I can think of a better way you can take care of me," Ben says, smiling devilishly at her. She giggles and leans up on her tip toes to kiss him.

"I already did that this morning."

"I'm just saying, I'm not opposed to you doing it again."

Leslie rolls her eyes and strolls by him, hopping up on the trunk. "Get over here, Wyatt."

He places himself between her legs so she can clean his cut.

She thinks about it for a moment, mentally weighing her options in her mind. They could go back now, talk to Andy and deal with whatever comes next, or they can keep going. She's not sure what's out there, but it doesn't feel like they've actually reached their true destination yet.

"Are you?"

He shakes his head. "Not yet."

"Hold still," she says, gently cleaning his face with a damp cloth. "It could be worse. And you're probably going to have a sexy scar."

"Guys with scars on their face just look like serial killers."

"That reminds me, I need to take a picture of you for my scrap book."

He sighs and makes what's supposed to be a threatening face while she snaps the photo. "What direction, baby smurf?"

"Keep going west," Leslie says, closing the bottle and jumping down. "Do you want me to drive?"

"You can drive the way back," Ben promises, and before Leslie knows it, Denver is just a distant memory.

_**things you said too quietly** _

"Five letter word for oozes?"

"Uhh, seeps?" Ben guesses.

"Oh yes!" Leslie exclaims, quickly leaning over to kiss Ben on the cheek. She continues filling in the answers while Ben drives, tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the music. "Baseball's blank slaughter?"

"Enos."

"What?"

"Enos Slaughter. He played for the Cards and a bunch of other things from 1938 to 59, Not that great if you ask me his batting average was only .300 but-"

"You're so sexy when you talk baseball stats, babe," Leslie says, putting the book and pencil back in her bag.

They stop at a rest stop in Fishlake national forest for a bathroom break and to stretch their legs. While she waits for Ben, she walks around, taking in the serene beauty around her. When Ben comes out, he joins her, resting his arm around her shoulder. They don't talk but his fingers grazing the skin on her shoulder speak louder than words ever could. She takes her phone out of her pocket and quickly snaps a picture of them, her smiling as he kisses her temple.

"He was partly happy right?" she asks as they walk back to the car. "I mean he didn't forbid you to never see me again-"

"He kind of did." His voice is so quiet she barely hears him.

"What?"

Ben kicks the gravel and turns back to her. "He said 'You can't date my sister, dude,' and then he made a bunch of faces and sounds like he was going to throw up."

Leslie stares at Ben for a moment while she considers her brother's reaction. "That jerk. I'm going to kill him."

"You can't kill him."

"I can! It's so hypocritical! Like I don't know he likes April and she's even younger than me!"

"Well maybe he feels bad about liking April so he-"

"And it's so insulting! He thinks us having sex is gross? Well I think him watching porn at two in the morning while covered in cheeto dust is gross," Leslie says, pacing in front of the car while Ben watches. "And another thing-" she pokes Ben in the chest-"I'm eighteen. Not five. I mean, you wouldn't be upset if one of your best friends was dating Stephanie would you?"

"Is someone dating Stephanie?"

"I don't know! Not the point, Ben!"

"Is it Tom? Oh god it's Garth right?"

"Garth can barely speak to women, you know that."

"That's true, but Stephanie loves Star Wars they could have bonded-"

"Ben, focus!"

"Sorry, right. Go on."

Leslie opens her mouth to continue, only to find she has nothing left to say. "I'm done."

He smiles. "Great. So, do you want to keep going or do you want to go back?"

"Let's keep going," she says, "Let's go until we reach the coast." They won't make it back by Monday, but she doesn't care.

"You got it." He kisses her and once again everything feels right.

_**things you didn’t say at all** _

The lights of Las Vegas are even brighter than what Leslie imagined. They don't stop, both intent on getting to the coast for the sunrise, but she imagines walking down the strip with him, passing by scalpers and club promoters and Elvis impersonators, eating at all you can eat buffets, seeing one of the Cirque Du Soleil shows, but the image she has more than any is that of standing in the Little White Wedding Chapel with him.

They haven't talked about it, but it's the little white elephant in the room. And as they pass by wedding chapel after wedding chapel, the elephant becomes not so little. But soon the city becomes desert and mountains and dark skies and bright stars again, and the thoughts fade as Leslie drifts off to sleep.

She wakes two hours later to Ben singing along to the radio. She watches him for a moment. His face is rather scruffy and his hair is sticking up in every direction. He's wearing nothing but a white t shirt and jeans and looks so much like James Dean that all she wants to do is climb into his lap. But she settles for the next best thing, unbuckling her seat belt after making sure there are no other cars near by.

"Les?"

He smells like sweat and lemons and tastes of salt and skin and his chin and neck are scratchy but it just sends her further into overdrive. She runs her hand down his shirt, feeling the muscles in his stomach as they tense as she reaches for his zipper. "Yeah?"

"Please."

That's all she needs. It's not comfortable, there's a cup holder between their seats that digs into her stomach and it's all rather cramped, but his fingers are in her hair and he's telling her how amazing she is and she loves the feel of him in her mouth, the weight and taste of him on her tongue so she doesn't care about any of the bad parts.

_**things you said while we watched the sunrise** _

They arrive in Santa Monica a few hours before the sun is supposed to rise according to Google. Leslie checks in on her Facebook, then checks Andy's page. He never updates except to post Mouse Rat pictures and concert dates, so she's not really surprised he hasn't said anything to her, but it's still a little disappointing. But she pushes thoughts of Andy out of her mind and instead focuses on the scent of the beach and the crashing of the waves while she waits for Ben to check them into a hotel room.

"I'm gonna go get some beer," he says after they throw their bags on the bed, kissing her before leaving. She goes outside to the patio and sits down and watches the ocean until he returns.

The sky is blue with streaks of pink and orange and yellow when Ben comes back. He opens a bottle and hands it to her. She figures she's already broken so many laws already that drinking one beer won't hurt, so she takes it and lets him lead her out to the beach where they sit just north of where the waves are stopping. They drink in silence, her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"For what?" she asks.

"For letting me kidnap you."

Leslie laughs and kisses Ben slowly, carding her finger through his hair. "I love you. I wasn't going to let you freak out on your own."

"I'm not though," he says as they turn back to watch the gulls fly about. "I should be in a complete panic, but I'm not."

"I just know how important Andy is to you, I don't want you to ruin your friendship over me."

"Yeah, but you're more important," Ben replies, eyes connecting with hers. "You're everything to me."

The words get stuck in her throat, but it's okay because she has other ways of telling him how he's everything to her too.

_**things you said after you kissed me** _

"Do you smell that?" Ben asks sometime later, as the kissing becomes softer and less frantic.

Leslie's covered head to toe in sand and people are starting to join them on the beach and everything looks and feels warm and bright. She thinks at first he means the smell of the ocean but then she smells it too, hot sugar and dough.

"Where is it?" she asks, turning to look up at the pier. She doesn't see any donut stands, but Ben's already standing, brushing sand off his clothes.

"I'm going to find it. You stay here and finish my beer."

"Yes, sir," she says, saluting him before he goes on his quest.

While he's gone, Leslie empties the beers and throws them into the trash. She longs to go out into the water,but of course she didn't think to pack her bathing suit. So she contents herself by closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her skin until Ben returns.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

"You were gone forever," she says, not even opening her eyes.

"Sorry. It took me forever to find it," he answers as she sits up to take her donut from him. It's hot and the glaze practically melts on her fingers and just taking one bite gives her an instant sugar high.

"It's okay," she grins, leaning over to taste the sugar on his lips. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Well, your nose is pink so we should probably go to the store and get some sunscreen."

"I need a swimsuit."

"Me too," Ben says, "And shaving cream."

"Aww." Leslie strokes his stubble. "But I like how scruffy you are."

"Then I'll leave it."

"Although, I do need to shave my legs," Leslie says, looking down at the fuzz on her legs. "So yeah, let's get to it."

They finish their donuts and go back to their room where they change out of their sandy clothes before driving to Target. It's there that while she's picking out a red, white and blue two piece that she notices Ben yawning while he picks out a pair of trunks for himself over in the men's section. She doesn't mention it as they pick out the rest of what they need, but she can feel the fatigue running off him and she vows to make sure he gets some rest before they actually do anything else for the rest of the day.

He's always tricking her into taking naps with promises of sex, it's only fair she get to do the same.

She sleeps until eleven thirty, but Ben sleeps for another hour. She showers and shaves her legs, texts with Ann and watches TV and looks through the tourist booklet for things they can do while she waits. She knows she wants to swim and walk along the pier and maybe go to the aquarium and ride the ferris wheel, but all of that is secondary to being with Ben.

"You tricked me."

"Are you always this grumpy when you wake up?" Leslie asks. He just glares up at her, upper lip twitching for a second before he growls and moves to lay his head on her leg. She runs her fingers through his hair, watching as his body rises and falls with each breath.

Eventually, hunger gets the best of them and they get out of the bed, dressing for the day and gathering everything they need for the day in a tote bag.

People stare at them as they walk by. She knows what it looks like, older, scruffy guy with a young girl who doesn't look sixteen yet. "Do you think if I shout I'm eighteen and show my drivers license they'll stop looking at you like you're a criminal?"

"It's your height," Ben says, "and your general bounciness."

"You love my bounciness."

"I do," he agrees, voice like gravel before he tells the hostess they want a table for two.

They get the couple's special, oysters, crab legs, two rock lobster tails and vegetables that she ignores. Ben drinks another beer and Leslie has a strawberry lemonade that makes her tongue tingle. They devour the food, both unaware of just how hungry they are until they start eating.

"Dessert?" The waiter asks, taking their plates off the

"Just the check," he says, looking at a very confused Leslie. "I saw a place this morning that has waffle sundaes."

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

He just smirks at her.

She eats her waffle sundae as they walk to the aquarium, swapping Ben's hand away when he tries to steal a bite. "You should have got your own."

"Please?" He asks, his eyes soft and pathetic like a lost puppy or a baby gazelle whose mother has just been eaten by a lion. She tries to resist, but it's impossible.

"Ugh. Fine."

"Thank you."

He manages to get a few more bites, but he only takes the parts covered in fudge and ice cream, leaving the whip cream for her, so she allows it.

They get to the aquarium just in time to watch the sharks being fed. There's a crowd, mostly families with young children. She watches the kids more than she does the sharks, wondering if in a few years her and Ben will be back here with their own kid.

She might be a little ahead of herself.

"Come on," he says, taking her hand to lead her out of the shark exhibit so they can walk through the rest of the aquarium. They spend most of their time at the touch tanks and at the under the pier tank that looks out underneath the bay, watching rays and various species of fish and the occasional leopard shark swim by.

They leave just before the aquarium closes and go back to the beach where she strips out of her sundress to reveal her two piece. It's now after five and the sun isn't as hot, but the sand is still plenty warm.

"Are you going to join me?" she asks, running her finger down his bare chest after he strips out of everything but his swim trunks.

"Sure," Ben says, "Just do me a favor and smile real quick."

She does and he quickly snaps a picture of her with his phone before putting it back in his jeans.

"Okay, let's do this," he says, and she races out into the ocean. The water is somehow both cold and hot on Leslie's skin. They're away from most of the crowd so she doesn't feel too guilty when she wraps her legs around him and pulls on his bottom lip until he takes over and kisses her so thoroughly that it goes straight down to her core.

She knows from his erection resting against her thigh he's been just as affected.

"Hey," she says, drawing a line down the back of his neck.

"Hey," he returns, fingers slipping between the fabric and her skin. "Did I tell you how much I like this bikini?"

"I thought so," she says, looking over to make sure no one is watching them. They aren't, preoccupied with their own lives, so she turns back to Ben and rests her forehead against his while his fingers snake inside her, making her toes curl. She whimpers and he shakes his head.

"You gotta be quiet," he whispers, kissing the skin right below her ear.

Right. She can be quiet. She nods and distracts herself by pressing her mouth against the crook of his neck, biting down while he guides himself inside her. The waves do most of the work, moving them both up and down. They're as far as they can go, near the rope that indicates the drop off. She imagines Ben's toes digging into the sandy floor, fish and other life swimming around him.

He cums but she doesn't. It's okay though, this was never about her anyway. She pulls off, tries to touch the bottom but she can't reach. "Wow, that's deep."

"It really isn't," he teases, fixing himself. "but come on, let's get you to the shallow end."

"I'm not impressed." Leslie says, following him back toward the beach.

_**things you said when we were on top of the world** _

They're sitting near the top of the Ferris Wheel, fingers laced together and sharing cotton candy kisses when Leslie says, "Do you remember that year we all went to the Harvest Festival together and you took me on the Ferris Wheel because no one else would? I always counted that as our first date. Which is stupid because you had a girlfriend and I was only twelve but you held my hand and my crush on you was gigantic."

"I remember," he says, "for the record, I did not start liking you until you were in high school."

"Of course."

He runs the hand not holding hers over his face. "Fuck, I'm such a creep. Maybe-"

"If your next words are Andy's right, I will push you off."

"No," he says, shaking his head. "It's just...Do you remember Spencer Ferguson?"

"Of course I do," she answers, biting into her cotton candy. "You don't forget the first boy who touches your breast."

Ben frowns and narrows his eyes at her for a moment. "Yeah. Him. Well, you know after your dad died, Andy swore he would look out for you and when you started growing up and boys started looking at you, he got really protective and if anyone did so much as look at you, he'd try to scare them off."

Leslie knows all this already, mostly because every time she asked a boy out, his eyes would grow huge and he'd shake his head and say something like, "And get killed? I don't think so!" It didn't take much to put the pieces together. She remains silent though, hoping Ben's going somewhere with this.

"And at first, I helped him, because he's my best friend and you're his sister and I would want someone to help me protect Steph, but eventually I realized I wasn't helping him because he was my friend or because I thought of you as a sister, but because-"

"You wanted to kiss me."

"Yes, that. My point is I know why he's mad. It's not that I'm with you, or because I have dirty pictures of you on my phone, although that probably doesn't help. It's because I lied to him. Oh god, I lied and then I kidnapped you."

"We didn't lie," Leslie says, "we just didn't tell him we were together. And I'm just as much to blame."

"I lied, Leslie. I told him I was dating a girl in my sociology class. He kept asking when I was going to meet my mystery girlfriend and I had to keep coming up with excuses."

Leslie laughs. "And he believed you?"

"I even put you under Eleanor R. just in case. Not that it did any good."

Leslie doesn't get a chance to respond though, as the wheel starts again, spinning around and around so fast she barely has time to think, let alone talk.

But then the ride stops and she looks over at Ben and his face is so calm as he looks out into night that her own heart stops racing. He looks at her and for a minute she thinks he's going to end things right now and her stomach drops at the thought but then he kisses her, as if reading her mind and knowing exactly what she needs now.

_**things you said when we were the happiest we ever were** _

"Do you want me to drive?" Leslie asks the next morning after they pack the car up and have breakfast courtesy of the IHOP across the street from the hotel.

Ben shakes his head. "I got it," he says, and there's something in his tone that says I have a secret, but she decides to let it go for now.

While Ben drives, Leslie looks through Ben's cd holder and flips through until she finds the Pretty in Pink soundtrack and puts it in. When she looks up, she sees Ben's going south and not east like he should.

"Are you lost?" she asks.

"Nope." He grins, turning the volume up. "this is a great song."

"Are we going through the southwest?" she asks, hoping she really doesn't have to stop in eastern Colorado again.

"We can if you want," he replies, "but I thought we might make a stop first."

"Where?" Leslie asks, curiosity now getting the best of her.

"Oh, I don't know," Ben shrugs, eyes bright as he tries not to laugh at her, "Just the happiest place on earth."

Leslie screeches, but she doesn't care and neither does Ben, if his laughter is any indication. "Wait," she says, "you do mean Disneyland right?"

"Oh. No. I meant the Tustin chili cook off. It's free to the public and it has craft booths and a petting zoo. Of course I meant Disneyland."

"Oh." Leslie feigned a pout. "Now that you say it, that cook off sounds better."

"Too bad, it's not for another week."

Leslie kisses Ben's cheek. "Thank you."

 

"So," Ben says as they eat beignets and watch the riverboat travel down the river, "what's your favorite thing so far?"

"Great moments with Mr. Lincoln," Leslie says without thought. But she's also enjoyed waving at everyone during the parade and meeting Pluto and eating every sugary thing Ben's bought her.

"I still say he's going to kill us."

"Babe, Lincoln was a great man. He would never kill us."

"The real Lincoln, maybe. Robot Lincoln is a whole other story."

She giggles and kisses his cheek. "What about you? What's your favorite thing?"

"Making out with you at the wishing well, and making out with you during Pirates and making out with you during the line to Splash Mountain, and making out with you in the Haunted Mansion."

"We haven't been to the Haunted Mansion yet."

"We're going now," Ben says, grabbing Leslie's hand to pull her up.

Hours later, Leslie's feet are sore and her arms are sunburned and she just spent a good thirty minutes of her life waiting for Ben to make himself a light saber after Star Tours but now she's inside the building for Space Mountain where the air conditioning is blasting and it feels like heaven on her skin and she's eating an ice cream bar and she's carrying bags of souvenirs and her boyfriend is chatting up another guy in line about the Star Tours and how it's the second best ride in the park.

"What's the first?" she asks as they get into the car.

He leans over to whisper in her ear. "You."

It's not the first dirty thing Ben's said to her that day. In fact, it's actually pretty tame, but it doesn't stop her from blushing. "Ben!"

He just smirks as they take off.

It's fast and dark and Leslie really does feel like she's flying in space, if flying in space was accompanied by old Aerosmith songs.

It's also over before she knows it. She looks over at Ben and sees his eyes are wide and he's breathing heavily.

"Wow," she says as they step out, "the last time you breathed that heavy was that time you canoodled me on my dresser. Yeah, I can do it too."

"That was a great day," Ben agrees as they walk out into the sunlight. "So we've got about an hour left before the fireworks, what do you wanna do?"

"Oh, well that girl said we should watch it by Small World."

"Ah good," he says, lacing his fingers with hers. "We haven't made out there yet."

While making out with Ben throughout the park has been wonderful, it's lying in his arms while the fireworks go off and "When You Wish Upon a Star" plays that really makes Leslie truly understand just how crazy she is for him. And when he squeezes her tighter during the big fireworks, she knows he feels the same way too.

 

She pushes him down onto the bed of the hotel room they rent for the night. He grins up at her as she straddles his slim waist. "That's it, babydoll. Ride my cock."

Leslie grins, pushing her hands into his chest, rubbing her soaking puss on his cock just to hear the low groan he makes before impaling herself on him. He opens his eyes to watch her, focused on her tits as they bounce as she rolls her hips in time with his. She bends back, stretching out as she finds the right rhythm that makes both of them climb.

She leans down wanting to kiss the taste of popcorn and her own juices off his lips, but as Ben's cock keeps fucking up into her she finds herself whimpering against his chest instead, unable to do anything else but take.

_**things you said that made me feel like shit** _

They've been driving for fifteen hours, only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks, eating only at drive -threws when the tire pops in Amarillo. "Crap on a crapper!"

"Fuck," Ben groans as Leslie pulls to the side of the road. "We're screwed."

"It's fine," she says, turning the engine off. "I can change it. You have spare right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think it's going to get us home."

"Oh." Leslie closes her eyes and thinks. "Well we'll just stop for the night and in the morning we'll get a new tire."

"Great idea, but I'm broke."

"What do you mean, you're broke?"

"It means I'm broke, Leslie. I've got just enough to get us back to Pawnee and that's it."

"What? Why?"

"Why? This whole trip is why! Look in our trunk, there are six bags with Mickey Mouse's face on it that say why!"

"Hey, that was your idea!"

Ben glares at her for a moment before turning away. Leslie stares at him for a moment, wishing she could read his mind to know what he's thinking. But it turns out she doesn't need telepathy, because he runs his hands over his face and says, "This was a mistake."

Her heart drops into her stomach like a lead ball. He looks at her, eyes huge as he frantically tries to apologize, to say he didn't mean it, but it's too late, the damage is already done. She gets out of the car and goes to the trunk, set on finding a jack and the spare so she change the tire and get to a hotel so she can call Ann or someone to come get her.

"Leslie, wait, let's just call AAA," Ben says as he follows her to the trunk.

"I can change a tire, Ben." Leslie opens the trunk and starts digging around for the jack. She finds it, and then starts pulling out their bags and some of Ben's things to get to the spare.

"I know you can, it's just-"

"What is that?"

"It's my spare tire."

Leslie throws her arms in the air. "That's not a spare! That tire's flatter the one on the freaking wheel!"

"So, you see what I mean about how it won't get us to Indiana."

Leslie throws their things back into the trunk and slams it shut. "Fine. I'll call AAA and they'll bring us a tire." She gets back in the car and they don't speak until the AAA guy gets there.

_**things you said when i was crying** _

They check into a motel just off the highway that looks like the go to place for drug deals and prostitution. The minute they're inside, Ben says, "I'll be back. Don't wait up."

"Where are you going?" She wipes her face, wishing she could stop crying.

"The bar down the street," he answers, closing the door behind him.

Leslie falls onto the bed. Moments later, two men begin yelling Spanish at each other outside.

She calls Ann. It's too late to call her, but she needs her best friend to speak some sense into her. Ann answers, voice rough as she says, "Leslie?"

"Ben's going to have sex on a pool table."

"Huh?"

It all comes out in a flood of words Leslie cannot control. She tells Ann everything, ever significant and not so significant moment of their trip, even though she knows them already, but it gives Ann enough time to wake up and be ready for when Leslie gets to the fight.

"So in conclusion, he's probably making out with some brunette right now."

"Ben loves you," Ann says, so matter of fact that Leslie's heart pangs.

"You didn't see him, Ann. He really regrets this trip."

"Well, it was rather impulsive."

"What? And that's my fault? This whole thing was his idea. I even tried to talk him out of it."

"That's not what I'm saying," Ann sighs. "Leslie, you're both tired and in a lot of stress. You've had fights before, you just need to talk to him."

Leslie picks at the loose string on the bed spread. "You're so wise and beautiful."

"Thanks. I need to sleep, call me in the morning, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too." Ann hangs up and Leslie wishes she felt better, but she doesn't.

_**things you said when you were drunk** _

Leslie's still awake hours later when Ben comes barging in the room, smelling of booze and smoke, making her eyes water.

"We should get married."

Leslie blinks. "Sure," she says, standing up to get him a cup of water. She's not sure if she's going to make him drink or if she's going to throw it at him, it'll depend on what happens in the next few seconds. She thinks back to when they drove through Vegas and the thought of eloping with Ben seemed exciting. But this was never how she pictured it.

He grabs her arm and pulls her back to him, giving her a contact buzz from being so close. "I mean it. We should get married. Right now!"

"It's two thirty in the morning," she says, "and you have to go to a mechanic tomorrow and get new tires so I think you should sleep."

"Fine, but I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Ben lets go of her and stumbles over to his bag to start digging through it. Leslie shakes her head at him and goes to the bathroom for the water and to give herself a pep talk.

When she comes out, he's on one knee, holding a ring. "Leslie Knope-"

The cup slips from her hand. "Oh."

"I love you and I want to be with you forever-"

"Ben, this isn't-"

"Just say yes."

She wipes her face and walks over to him, sighing. "If I say yes, will you go to bed?"

"Yes."

"Then yes," Leslie says. He puts the ring on and stands up, smashes his lips to hers and collapses on the bed.

"Well, fuck."

_**things you said through your teeth** _

Leslie takes the car into the tire shop early to buy Ben new tires while he sleeps off his hangover. While she waits she debates calling Ann, but my boyfriend got stinking drunk and proposed to me isn't something she wants to say out loud, especially in a room full of mechanics. So she plays Candy Crush instead and watches the morning news on the TV in the corner until the phone rings and Ben's name appears.

"This is Leslie Knope."

"Where are you?"

"Tire shop."

He sighs, cursing under his breath. "Leslie, you don't have to-"

"I don't mind," Leslie says, "think of it as an engagement present."

It's worth it to hear the tiny, "What?" just as her name is called.

"I gotta go, I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Les-"

"Love you," she says, hanging up and smiling at Dan the tire shop employee.

When she returns to the motel, Ben's dressed, his hair wet and unstyled. He looks terrible, which is why she almost feels guilty for still being angry, but not enough to stop from quickly making sure she has everything and then saying, "Let's go."

"We should get breakfast," he says, "I think there's a Denny's near by."

"Great," she says through her teeth, though the truth is she is rather hungry.

They're sitting at a booth, waiting for their food to come. Ben's drinking coffee by the pot, and she's tapping her fingers on the table, trying make him notice the ring.

"Can you stop that?" he asks, "I have a headache."

"I bet," she says, stopping but keeping her voice level. "So what happened? Meet anyone?"

"Um, nothing really. Some girls taught me how to two step-"

Instantly, Leslie's hunger replaced by something much worse. "You danced with other girls?"

"Um, yeah. These girls were having a bachelorette par…" He trails off as she stands from her chair to walk out and wait for him by the car.

Minutes later, Ben comes out, shoulders tense as he walks toward her. "Okay," he seethes, "I don't know what your problem is but you're being a brat."

"My problem?" She asks, poking him in the chest, "My problem is you blamed me for something that wasn't my fault! I didn't ask for you to take me to Disneyland or buy me that Mickey Mouse ears tiara. My problem is you left me in a shitty motel room surrounded by meth heads while you went and got drunk with a bunch of bachelorettes. But my biggest problem is you can remember them but you can't remember giving me this!" She waves her hand in his face. "Oh yeah, you proposed. It was really sweet. Right up there with the time you made out with Cindy Miller during my sweet sixteen party."

Ben just stares at her. It feels like hours pass, not mere seconds. "I proposed?"

"Yes. But I'm sure you'd rather go propose to Mary Ellen or Sue Ann or whatever her name is," she says, taking the ring off and slamming it into his fist.

Ben looks down at the ring. "They...they told me to do it. They said if I love you as much as I kept saying I do I should do it. That I shouldn't keep waiting for the perfect moment, that I should just go for it. Fuck."

The heat is giving Leslie a headache, her stomach is hurting and she's pretty sure she's getting a sunburn, but none of those things matter. "You love me?"

He chuckles and wipes a tear away with his thumb. "A lot."

"Okay. I love you too," she says and even though she's feeling a lot of feelings, the need to kiss him is too much, so she pulls him down to her level, letting out her frustration with her lips and teeth.

He pulls back after several minutes though, clearly debating with himself, but then he exhales. "Now would be a bad time too."

"I think I'm getting heat sickness."

"Me too,"he says, "let's go."

_things you said at the kitchen table_

They get back to Pawnee at three in the morning. It feels strangely cyclical to Leslie, that they come back at the same time they left, sneaking back into her house. But the moment she's back in her room and sees her bed, all she can think about is crawling into it and going to sleep.

"Are you staying?" she asks as she undresses and throws on an old t shirt. He just nods and takes off everything but his boxers and gets into her bed with her, kissing her forehead before they both drift off to sleep. The fight is over, but Leslie still feels uneasy, as if standing on top of a cliff. She knows that eventually, they will get past this and everything will go back to normal and maybe they'll even laugh about it, but for right now all she can really trust is the way he embraces her.

When Leslie wakes up her clock says it's eleven thirty. She blinks, unable to focus on the numbers, let alone believe she slept that long. The spot beside hers is empty and cold though. She sighs and rubs her hand over her face and gets out of the bed to look for her pajama pants.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is," Andy says when he walks into the kitchen. He and their mom are at the table, eating grilled cheese sandwiches.

She stills, not sure where he and her older brother stand, but then he stands up and picks her up, arms wrapping around her so tight she almost can't breathe.

"Andy, put your sister down before you break her rib again."

Beaming, Andy obeys Marlene. Leslie exhales and gets a bottle of water from the fridge. "Sorry, I just missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she says, hugging him before sitting down. "So, did you talk to Ben?"

"Oh yeah, we're good now, though I did tell him what'll happen if he ever kidnaps you again."

"Andy, Ben didn't kidnap me. I mean, did he sneak into my room at one in the morning all panicked and begging me to leave with him? Yes. But I left of my own free will."

"Your dad once took me on a spontaneous trip when we were young," Marlene says, sighing at the memory. "We had the best sex on that-" Hearing the word sex, Leslie and Andy cover their ears.

"Anyway," Leslie says wishing to change the subject, "did he say where he was going?"

"Oh, no," Andy answers. "He just said he had to go though and he'd call you later."

She frowns and wonders where Ben could have gone. It doesn't take a genius though to realize he probably left because after an entire weekend together, most of it stuck in a car together, he probably wants a break from her. She can't say she blames him. But she shakes of the feeling and concentrates on the matter in front of her. "And you're okay with us dating?"

"Of course! It's only the best thing ever! If anyone's going to date you it should be Ben."

"Then why did you punch him?"

"Hey, just because I approve of you two dating it doesn't mean I want to think about you doing gross sex stuff or see pictures of it on his phone."

Leslie shrugs, having to concede Andy's point. "I better call Ann and let her know I'm home." She hugs her mom and Andy again before she goes to call Ann.

_**things you said after it was over** _

It's later in the day and she's sitting in Ann's room listening to the radio while Ann looks through Leslie's phone at the pictures. "I can't believe he proposed to you while drunk. I mean I thought you were going to elope but that's different."

"I thought we were too," Leslie confesses. "But it's better this way. I'm going to college in the fall and he's graduating and it's not like we can actually afford to get married I mean where would we live? And besides, I'm not going to get married without you there."

"So you're not mad he took back his proposal?"

"Technically, I'm the one who took it back. And no, it's fine. We're fine. In fact, we're better than fine. We're great! Ben's great and I'm great and we're great together and I absolutely do not care that we're not actually engaged he'll ask me when the time is right."

Ann studies her for a minute. "How long have you been giving yourself that speech?"

"Since last night. Is it convincing?"

"Not really."

Leslie sighs,her head landing on the side of Ann's bed. "I knew it wasn't real and he didn't really mean it, but a small part of me really hoped-" she's interrupted by her phone ringing. Ben's name shows up on the screen and for a second, she thinks about ignoring it, but Ann puts the phone in her hand.

"Go."

She squeezes Ann's hand and answers.

_**things you said under the stars and in the grass** _

Ben doesn't propose that night, or the night after, or even a week after. The summer passes and they both go back to school and she's so caught up in classes and activities and homework that she actually forgets. What she doesn't forget about though, is how much she loves him. "I miss you," she says, glad her dorm mate is gone for the night. Not for the first time, she wishes Ann hadn't gone to Michigan instead.

"I miss you too," he says, voice low and rough, "Are you alone?"

"Yes, but I don't want to do that now. Not alone."

"What if you weren't alone?" he asks. Seconds later, there's a knock at the door. She sighs and goes to answer it and even though she has a suspicion, she's still surprised to see Ben there.

"Ben!" She jumps up into his arms, kissing him as he carries her into her room, kicking the door closed behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," he says, putting her down. "I have a surprise for you."

"Is it your butt? Because I've really missed it."

"No," he says, grinning, "but-wait, when is your roommate supposed to be back?"

"She's not, she's spending the night with her boyfriend."

"Oh. Same guy?"

"Different, I think. But this one isn't married so, yay!"

"Yay," Ben repeats, capturing her lips with his own. She goes for his belt, but he grabs her hands. "Sorry. But, I made a picnic-"

"You made a picnic?"

"Yes, and there's ice cream and how is it eighty degrees in October?" He shakes his head."Point is, it's going to melt."

Well, she can't say no to a late night surprise picnic. "Okay. Let's go."

He drives them to the nearest park where they find a place to sit near a pond. He spreads out a blanket and after they sit, takes out two bowls and a pint of vanilla ice cream.

"We could just eat it out of the carton," she says, taking her finger to catch the melting ice cream around the rim of the container.

"Trust me," he says, taking out a Styrofoam container that says JJ's on the top.

"Wait are you-" Her question is answered when he places two waffles inside the bowls and scoops the ice cream on top, followed by hot fudge sauce, nuts and a mountain of whipped cream.

"You are the best boyfriend ever," she says, grabbing her bowl so she can dig in. They eat in peaceful silence, occasionally stopping to kiss. When Ben's done with his, he puts the bowl back into the basket.

"Actually, it's funny you said I'm the best boyfriend, because that's what I wanted to talk to you about," he says just as she takes her last bite.

She freezes and slowly swallows. "Is this a I want to break up waffle sundae?"

"What? No. It's the opposite actually," he says, pulling a grey ring box out of his pocket and moving so he's sitting on one knee. "It's a will you marry me waffle sundae."

"Oh." She stares at it for a moment. "You're not drunk again are you?"

"No, I'm completely sober," he says, taking her bowl away to put it aside so he can hold her hands. "Just like I'm completely in love with you."

Her body is already buzzing from the sugar, but his words and touch and the way he's looking at her send her heart into overdrive. She can't even speak as he takes the ring out of his pocket.

"Leslie Knope, will you marry-"

"Yes!" she shouts, eager to kiss the taste of vanilla and chocolate off his lips.

"Me," Ben finishes just as she lunges for him.

They fall back on the blanket and she forgets the world.


End file.
